WHEEL: noun
A circular object that revolves on an axle and is fixed below a vehicle or other object to enable it to move easily over the ground

RIM: noun
The upper or outer edge of an object, typically something circular or approximately circular

Neither hub caps nor wheel covers have any effect on a wheel's backspacing/offset.

This is a hub cap. A hub cap is standard equipment on all cars except 1967 Chevelles with disc brake option, Chevelle SS-specific (1969-1972) wheels, and 1964-1965 Malibu SS Chevelles with full wheel covers. Often called "dog dish," "poverty caps," "police caps," etc. simply because the car was not ordered with full wheel covers.

This is a wheel cover, not a hub cap. These are optional on all Chevelles except those with optional rally wheels, SS-specific (1969-1972) wheels. Often a model year may have several optional wheel covers available.

Offset and backspacing are two commonly used terms in wheel measurement but can be confusing at times. While the terms are related, many people will ask what is the best, or most, backspacing I can use to fit a particular wheel/tire combination. Unfortunately, most wheel manufacturers use offset for a measurement and not backspacing. Let's try to clear up this often misunderstood terminology and learn how to measure offset and the resulting backspacing.

Advertised wheel width is generally measured at the inside tire bead mounting surface but you must determine the overall wheel width from the front to rear lip - usually 1-inch total. So a wheel that is advertised as 16x8 is 16-inches in diameter, 8-inches from tire bead to tire bead but 9-inches wide overall.

0-inch offset - Backspacing is determined by the wheel's width from bead to bead.

Offset ~ The distance from the mounting pad to the centerline of the wheel. Offset can be positive (more backspacing) or negative (less backspacing).

Backspacing ~ The measurement from the mounting pad to the inner edge of the wheel.

(These are definitions supplied by ARE. Other wheel manufacturers may use different points of measurement.)

Let's assume you have a 17x8-inch wheel. Lay the wheel on the ground with the front (street side) facing down. Lay a straight edge across the rear (top) lip and measure from this lip to the mounting flange. If the wheel has "zero" offset, this will measure about 4.5 inches - one half the width of the wheel plus the wheel lip width (approx. 0.5") and result in a 4.5-inch backspace. (Again, ARE measures differently. A 17x8 ARE 200S with zero offset has 4.5" of backspacing to the inner edge of the wheel and not to the bead.)

Negative Offset (less backspacing)

If you remember the days of the 'deep-dish' or chrome-reverse wheels, you've seen negative offset. The mounting flange of the wheel is moved from the centerline towards the car itself resulting in the wheel having a greater lip surface towards the outside. Not only does this reduce the clearance between the tire and the wheel well lip for your tires, it puts more strain on the wheel and axle bearings.

Negative offset equals less backspacing.

The American Racing Outlaw I model wheel is a good example of a wheel with negative offset. In a 15x8 size this wheel is listed as having -19mm offset resulting in 3.75-inches of backspacing. Let's see how this is arrived at.

* 8-inch wheel is 9-inches from lip to lip.
* One-half of 9-inches is 4.5-inches.
* -19mm offset is roughly -0.75-inches.
* Add the -0.75-inches offset to the mounting surface location of 4.5-inches and you get 3.75-inches of 'backspacing'

Positive Offset (greater backspacing)

Positive offset can be seen on many of today's modern cars with front wheel drive. The centerline of the wheel is moved towards the front (street side) resulting in more backspacing. With disc brakes and wider tires being standard equipment, the positive offset allows the wheel/tire combination to fit inside the wheel well instead of protruding past the fender lip. This wheel has a positive offset of over 40mm thereby moving the mounting flange over 1.5-inches toward the street side of the wheel.

Positive offset equals greater backspacing

The American Racing Split model wheel is a good example of a wheel with positive offset. In a 15X7 size this wheel is listed as having +40mm offset resulting in 5.5-inches of backspacing. Let's see how this is arrived at.

* 7-inch wheel is 8-inches from lip to lip.
* One-half of 8-inches is 4-inches.
* +40mm offset is roughly 1.575-inches.
* Add the 1.575-inches offset to the mounting surface location of 4-inches and you get 5.575-inches of 'backspacing'

These terms can be confusing at times as some manufacturer's list the backspacing, some list offset, and some list both. Just remember that backspacing is a direct result (or byproduct) of offset.

Many wheel manufacturers also list backspacing or offset in millimeters instead of inches, so a little math conversion comes into play here.

For the Chevelle owner with a 5 lug, 4.75-inch bolt circle wheel pattern, two 17x8 models of the ARE 200S wheel are offered; one with +14mm offset and one with -12mm offset. I use this wheel as an example only because I had a set of these and, personally, I prefer ARE wheels. Be sure to check with your choice of wheel companies to see how their offset/backspacing is measured.

First we must learn to deal with the metric measurements and convert those to inches. Multiply the metric measurement by 0.03937 to get the measurement in inches. For example: +14mm is equivalent to 0.55 inches. The +14mm is a positive offset of 0.55 inches so that will move the mounting flange 0.55 inches closer to the front of the wheel resulting in a 5.05-inch backspacing - much like the OFFSET picture at the top of the page. The other wheel has a -12mm offset (negative) that calculates to 0.4724 inches.

The negative offset will move the mounting flange closer to the back of the wheel resulting in less backspacing; 4.0276 inches (4.50 - .4724) in this case. Negative offset gives the wheel that "deep dish" look but can play havoc with the wheel well and front wheel bearings.

The published figures by ARE for this wheel are:
17x8 w/+14mm offset ~ 5" backspacing
17x8 w/-12mm offset ~ 4" backspacing

The American Racing wheel website has some very good technical articles explaining offset, backspacing, how to measure, and how to decide on the correct wheel for your application.

Practical example using a Chevrolet 14x5 steel wheel.

The advertised width, 5-inches, is measured from bead-to-bead, not from the outer edges of the rim. The wheel measures 6-inches from outside edge-to-outside edge. Knowing this outside width is important for a couple of reasons. First, to measure the backspace, (or offset), this outer edge is used as a reference point. Second, when the wheel and tire are installed on the car, this extra 1-inch plus must be taken into account for clearance.

Laying the wheel (without a tire) face down on a level surface, lay a straight edge across the back side of the wheel. Measure from the wheel-to-drum/disc mounting pad to the straight edge. In this example, the measurement is 4-inches.

To calculate backspacing or offset, you take the overall wheel width of 6-inches (from edge-to-edge) and divide that by 2 to find the centerline of the wheel. In this case, half of 6-inches is 3-inches. The backspacing is the 4-inches shown in the photo above. That 4-inch backspacing results in 1-inch offset from the centerline of the wheel. Since the offset is towards the outside of the wheel, moving the wheel/tire closer to the suspension, this offset is considered to be a positive (+) offset.

If the 4-inches shown above were instead, say 2-inches, the backspacing would be that 2-inches and the offset would still be 1-inch but it would be a negative (-) offset putting the wheel/tire combination closer to the wheel well edge and away from the suspension. In days gone by this negative offset was called a 'reversed' wheel' or 'deep dish' design.

Linear metric conversion calculator.

Tire Size to Wheel Size

Many people often ask what size tire can I safely mount on my wheel? The chart below shows 'recommended' tire sizes for a particular width wheel. Noting is absolute. The column heading are the wheel's width and tire profile. The tire's aspect ratio is shown for each profile. Be cure to take the wheel's offset when considering a wheel/tire combination. For example an 8.5-inch wheel can comfortably handle a 235 or 245 tire with aspect ratios of 30, 35, and 40 (e.g., 255/40R15) and a 265 or 275 tire with an aspect ratio of 60, 65, or 70 (e.g. 285/60R15). The wheel diameter is not relevant.